Chapter 247 Inner Source Circle, Returning Immortal Sect Is Done For

The moment this possibility occurred to her, Lian Mu felt a chill crawl up her spine. So this thing could be recycled.

No wonder Xuan Che had only left two beasts to guard the gate. Each of these two was as strong as an entire pack.

And the spiritual power fluctuations were clearly stronger than before. What kind of freak was this, the more it died, the stronger it became?

Lian Mu had no desire to find out how much stronger they were after their rebirth. If she had to go through that again, she really would die. Besides, she could no longer unleash the Black Flood Dragon.

Without any hesitation, Lian Mu turned and bolted, sprinting toward the teleportation entrance she had used to come in.

Outside, the black-and-white twin beasts had already climbed back to their feet. The instant they saw the hall doors open, they crowded around the entrance, blocking her way.

The white Horned Lion Beast caught sight of Lian Mu and a furious expression appeared on its face. It opened its mouth and let out a thunderous roar.

Lian Mu: “…”

If she tried to slide-tackle past them now, she would most likely slide straight into its stomach.

For some reason, though, they seemed unable to enter. They could only remain outside and guard her.

Looking through the gap between the two beasts, Lian Mu estimated the distance from here to the teleportation gate. She had absolutely no chance of reaching it.

She could not take a single step out of the hall. Even getting too close might see her torn to pieces.

Since she could not return through the teleportation gate, she could only draw a Teleportation Talisman herself. But she had never set foot in any other part of the Red Scorched Circle. Even with a Teleportation Talisman, it would only send her somewhere at random, and she would have no idea where she might end up.

If she could not get back to the Corpse Mountain Scorched Forest, what would happen to the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda?

Lian Mu frowned. At this point, she had no options left. She could only gamble once more.

Her luck had always been extreme. If for once it decided to be good, she might drop straight back onto the corpse mountain…

She could not stay trapped here forever.

Staring at the snarling black-and-white twin beasts in front of her, Lian Mu hardened her heart, pulled out a blank Talisman Paper, and drew out a string of Teleportation Talisman script. Then she ignited it with her spiritual power.

The Horned Lion Beast seemed to realize what she intended to do and released its pressure to stop her. But they were a step too late. This time, Lian Mu was using a lightning-type Teleportation Talisman script, so fast its shadow could not be seen.

It was her first time using the fastest kind of talisman. She did not possess a Lightning Spirit Root and had to force it with pure, concentrated spiritual power. It hurt a bit, but the speed was real. In the blink of an eye, the scene before her eyes had changed completely.

She could barely make out anything in front of her. Her head was spinning and her vision was swimming. All she could do was let the talisman drag her along.

She could not ignore the sensation of falling. Fortunately, she was someone recognized by the passage’s barrier, so she encountered no obstruction on the way.

When her vision cleared again, she was falling into a patch of forest. She failed to land firmly, toppled backward, and instinctively grabbed at something nearby. Her hand closed around a round, icy-cold object.

The crisp jingle of a bell snapped her back to full awareness. Once she had regained her balance, she finally saw what she was holding.

A silver bell.

Lian Mu: “?”

Her luck was this good? She had actually dropped near a Bell Hanging Point.

Lian Mu immediately pulled out her map, then resonated with the silver bell using her spiritual power and lit up the exploration field, wanting to know where she was.

As the bell’s color changed, she searched the map with great anticipation, paying particular attention to the yet-unlit parts of the Red Scorched Circle. However, within the range of the Red Scorched Circle, nothing stirred.

Instead, it was the very top of the map, a place she had never paid attention to, that slowly lit up in blue-green.

Lian Mu focused on it. Three big characters: Inner Source Circle.

She froze.

Inner Source Circle… this was the so-called deepest ring of Demonic Creatures, the source circle of the Demon Nurturing River.

Lian Mu: “…”

Beside her was the one and only Bell Hanging Point in the Inner Source Circle, and also the area where a single silver bell covered the largest range of territory in the entire field.

Once this region lit up, the Returning Immortal Sect finally left the Azure Profound Sect far behind, leaping to become the sect that had explored the widest total domain.

Good news, the Returning Immortal Sect’s Golden Core Flower map was secured.

Bad news, she had just escaped the tiger’s den only to fall into a wolf’s lair.

She looked at the distance from the corpse mountain to here. The Red Scorched Circle and the Inner Source Circle bordered each other, so there was still a sliver of hope.

But whether she could make it out of the Inner Source Circle alive was another question entirely.

It was very quiet around Lian Mu, even quieter than the Red Scorched Circle. The quieter a place was, the more likely it housed high-level Demonic Creatures. Demonic Creatures devoured each other, and the higher their level, the more they had consumed. It was common for a single high-level Demonic Creature to monopolize an entire area, just like how, in the past, the Mist Sea Cliff had only the Thousand-Eyed Fish Demon.

Lian Mu could not help tightening the Fox Fur around her shoulders. Fortunately, she still had a Body Concealing Spiritual Tool. Otherwise, she might have been targeted by Demonic Creatures the moment she fell.

This time, she did not feel that sticky sensation of being watched. For the moment, she was safe.

Her frown deepened. She wanted to go to the Red Scorched Circle and retrieve the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda, but to do that she had to pass through the boundary zone between the two circles: the Withered Bone Marsh.

One of the Five Dire Grounds, and the most mysterious of them all.

Wonderful. This fresh new disciple had managed to visit all five Dire Grounds without missing a single one. The fact that she was still alive was sheer stubborn fate.

The road lay before her, and once again Lian Mu found herself with no choice. She could not stay in the Inner Source Circle and wait for someone to rescue her. It was far too dangerous here. She would probably be eaten by Demonic Creatures before anyone arrived.

Besides, if she did not return to the Red Scorched Circle, she would never get the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda back.

She accepted her rotten luck. All she could do was follow the route on the map and hurry toward the Red Scorched Circle.

…

…

Meanwhile, at the teleportation array exit of the Flat Earth Circle.

The Azure Profound Sect’s teams had gathered here, waiting for the teleportation array to open again. They were sharper than the other sects and had sensed danger in advance, returning early to a safe area.

While they were waiting, Shen Minglu arrived with the Returning Immortal Sect’s people. None of them looked good. One glance was enough to tell they had run into serious trouble.

Aside from Guan Huailin, the chief team of the Returning Immortal Sect had all returned. The Second Seat’s group was mostly there as well, only Lian Mu was missing.

In the Azure Profound Sect’s ranks, Qian Songshi glanced over at them. Not seeing Lian Mu’s figure, he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me even the Returning Immortal Sect’s Second Seat has run into trouble?”

Beside him, Nangong Li gave him a meaningful look. “You seem very interested in her.”

Qian Songshi smiled. “Of course. She is someone who managed to seriously injure Senior Brother Ying. I very much want to consult her properly.”

Hearing him subtly step on Ying You again, Gu Qingyu felt a flash of displeasure. But he could not find any angle from which to refute him. Qian Songshi’s tongue was far too glib, not someone a person like him could ever outtalk.

Gu Qingyu made a mental note and planned to tell Ying You once they got back, so he could properly deal with that brat.

He did not want to listen to him anymore, so he moved aside and looked for something to pass the time.

Gu Qingyu took out the map, intending to familiarize himself with the terrain of the Shifang Nether Soil so that when he came again in the future, he could move with more ease.

In this round, it was obvious their sect had a secure victory. Even though they had left the field early, no one was going to surpass the exploration sector they had opened up.

However, he had barely looked for long when a streak of green light suddenly flared on the map. An exploration sector had been claimed by Returning Immortal Sect.

Gu Qingyu’s expression grew puzzled and he followed the green light with his eyes.

When he saw the Bell Hanging Point in the Inner Source Circle light up, he finally could not hold back. “This is ridiculous.”

Who in Returning Immortal Sect had the nerve to be grabbing exploration sectors at a time like this, and was even grabbing one in the Inner Source Circle?

He had thought Lu Feishuang and Ji Mingyue entering the Red Scorched Circle was already pushing the limit. He never expected there would be someone even more formidable.

That was the source ring of the Demon Nurturing River. Even when it was not the Night of the Black Moon, very few people dared to venture there. As for the Bell Hanging Point of the Inner Source Circle, the teams from the Four Great Sects were unanimous that it existed in name only. They had only symbolically encircled a sector on the map. In reality, those capable of exploring it were few and far between. Counting all previous years combined, there had been no more than ten.

The danger level of the Inner Source Circle was something new disciples did not even dare to imagine.

Yet in their batch, someone had actually managed to break in and had even lit up this sector.

Although, judging from how things were tonight, it would be very hard for that person to make it back alive.

To sacrifice a life for a single Golden Core Flower map was far too high a price.

Gu Qingyu could not help feeling a bit moved. He was just about to guess who it might be when he suddenly recalled what Qian Songshi had said earlier.

Among the Returning Immortal Sect’s chief team and Second Seat team, only Guan Huailin and Lian Mu had not returned. Guan Huailin looked nothing like someone who would risk charging into the Inner Source Circle. Could it be Lian Mu?

To get in alive already required a certain level of strength. It was definitely not going to be one of the ordinary disciples from the main group.

Besides, Lian Mu had always acted in strange and unpredictable ways. If it was her, that would actually make the most sense.

This was far too reckless. With her level of strength, where did she get the courage to barge into the Inner Source Circle?

Maybe she had been lucky going in and had not run into anything too dangerous, but it would not be the same on the way out. Leaving aside everything else, just the Withered Bone Swamp she had to pass through on her way back was enough to leave her without even a place to be buried.

Gu Qingyu had always known she was reckless, but he had not expected her to be reckless to this extent.

When he thought of how Lian Mu had robbed them earlier, a strange and inexplicable sense of satisfaction rose in Gu Qingyu’s heart.

If you often walk by the river, your shoes are bound to get wet. This time, she had finally crashed into a hard stone.

Gu Qingyu could not stop himself from calling out to the people of Returning Immortal Sect. “Hey, your Returning Immortal Sect has had its day. Lian Mu went into the Inner Source Circle. She is as good as dead. Looks like Returning Immortal Sect will be changing its Second Seat.”

The group from Returning Immortal Sect turned around, momentarily not understanding.

Xu Xianxing said, “What are you talking about? Lian Mu has my Body Concealing Spiritual Tool on her. Demonic Creatures cannot hurt her.”

“I know that, but your Spirit Artifact can fool Demonic Creatures below the Red Scorched Circle. Do you really think it can hold up in the Inner Source Circle?”

Xu Xianxing’s face changed. “What do you mean?”

Gu Qingyu said, “One of your Returning Immortal Sect exploration sectors just lit up again, inside the Inner Source Circle. I cannot imagine anyone but Lian Mu being so reckless as to act like that. Your friend is about to lose her life, and you are all still standing here chatting at your leisure.”

Guan Shize’s eyes widened. He immediately pulled out his map, and sure enough, a green glow had lit up in the Inner Source Circle, marked with Returning Immortal Sect’s symbol.

When the others saw it, their expressions all grew extremely grave.

What Gu Qingyu said was not false. It really was someone from Returning Immortal Sect.

Even if it was not Lian Mu, it had to be some other disciple of Returning Immortal Sect.

Baili Que said, “How could this be… Lian Mu fell off Mist Sea Cliff. How did she suddenly end up in a place like that…”

“Go call the elders,” Ji Mingyue said, still keeping her composure. “Have them check it against their maps.”

If it did not match, then it was just an issue with their map.

If it did, then it meant someone from Returning Immortal Sect had really entered the deepest layer. No matter who it was, they were facing immense danger.

Returning Immortal Sect had to send people to rescue them.